Suchergebnisse

Abstract  In Germany and Austria, cohorts of older people with an intellectual disability (ID) are missing due to their liquidation during the Third Reich period. This report presents the finding of a survey of all ID service providers in Austria. The survey found a total of 2866 persons aged 40 years and older with ID, but over one‐third (n = 1036) did not live within the accommodation settings of a service provider, meaning that they are still living with their aging parents or relatives. Contrasting this with earlier findings, the data provided by this survey indicate an urgent need in Austria for quality management, planning, financing and realizing additional accommodation provisions for adults and older people with ID.

BackgroundThe current body of research on job satisfaction of people with intellectual disability is based on highly diverse measures, originating both from the general population and people with intellectual disability. This heterogeneity represents a possible confounder. Best‐practice approaches for the assessment of job satisfaction are hence needed.MethodUsing systematic literature review, job satisfaction measures were identified and analyzed with regard to their applicability for people with intellectual disability. Identified best‐practice measures (JDI/JIGS as well as RSM‐WS) were subsequently applied in the course of a pilot study with 129 employees of sheltered workshops. Comprehension, reliability and validity were assessed.ResultsThe three identified instruments exhibit high reliability and validity. Comprehension was sufficient for JDI and JIGS but better for RSM‐WS.ConclusionsThe JDI/JIGS represent a feasible measures of job satisfaction allowing for comparisons with the general population. In samples with more severe intellectual disabilities, the RSM‐WS is preferable.

BackgroundCurrent research on employment options for people with Intellectual Disability emphasizes the importance of employee needs and satisfaction. The study aims at systematically reviewing the literature on job satisfaction and related constructs.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted. Studies were included if (i) they are specific to effects of work, (ii) assessed variables are related to job satisfaction, QoWL, attitudes towards work or work motivation and if (iii) studies reported intellectual disability‐specific results. Twenty‐three studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings were classified according to the socio‐cognitive model of job satisfaction.ResultsCurrent literature suggests high job satisfaction in people with intellectual disability. Predictors of job satisfaction are similar to people without disabilities, albeit the importance of factors differs.ConclusionsStronger consideration of well‐established theories and measures from organizational psychology would enhance future research. Findings indicate that high satisfaction ratings might result from lack of control over vocational decisions.

AbstractWhile the extent of research on age‐related frailty among adults in general has increased substantially during the past two decades, there has been a void in equivalent research with respect to adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). While frailty and disability have been seen as different, but overlapping, concepts in the field of ID, the concept of frailty is missing an empirical foundation. The authors define the concept of frailty as applied to adults with ID, using indicators based on Fried's definition (i.e., a physiological state of increased vulnerability to stressors that follows from decreased physiological reserves and dysregulation of a physiological system) and Rockwood's frailty criteria (multisystemic instability, change over time, allowance for heterogeneity, association with aging, and association with an increased risk of adverse outcomes). They developed a frailty questionnaire and tested their concept of frailty against the concept of disability. To do this, frailty‐related data using self‐report and third‐party interviews were collected within the Austrian component of the POMONA II Project using a sample of 190 people with ID aged between 18 and 76 years. Variables in four frailty domains—social, cognitive, physical, and mental health—were assessed and defined as contributing to causal frailty factors. Similarities of the frailty syndrome were analyzed between the general population and the population with ID. The results offer evidence of a "frailty syndrome" affecting older people with ID.

Abstract  The Graz Declaration on Disability and Ageing, which was promulgated at the June 2006 European Conference on Ageing and Disability, was commissioned by the Austrian European Union Presidency and was produced by a network of European ageing and disability nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), with the support of two Austrian disability NGOs. Based on a framework of the principles of inclusion and human rights, the declaration is an integrated document on disability and ageing, uniting matters of concern, clarifying common variances, and emphasizing special requirements for older people with disabilities. The declaration was developed to serve as a political statement, produced by a collective of key stakeholders from among both the ageing and disability communities, that would enable a new European coalition to emerge, working with a common voice, which would advocate more effectively for a quality life for older people with disabilities, strengthening their fundamental rights as well as social cohesion, and thus strengthening overall European social capital.

Zahlreiche Publikationen belegen, dass die Gesundheit von Menschen mit intellektueller Behinderung (IB) für Krankheiten und Störungen anfälliger ist als die der Allgemeinbevölkerung. Zudem sind bestimmte Risikoverhaltensweisen (z. B. schlechte Ernährung und wenig Bewegung) häufiger bei dieser Personengruppe zu finden. Trotz der sensibleren Gesundheitssituation steht die gesundheitspsychologische Forschung für Menschen mit IB noch am Anfang. Für diesen Überblicksartikel wurde Fachliteratur über Menschen mit IB nach gesundheitspsychologischen Konzeptionen durchsucht und bestehende Forschungsarbeiten analysiert. Des Weiteren wurden rezente Gesundheitsmodelle sowie Kontinuitäts- und Stadienmodelle für die Allgemeinbevölkerung und ihre einzelnen Bestandteile hinsichtlich ihrer Übertragbarkeit auf diese spezielle Population untersucht. Eine Generalisierung von Gesundheitsmodellen der Allgemeinbevölkerung auf die Gruppe von Menschen mit IB erscheint aus verschiedenen Gründen problematisch. So erweist sich z. B. die Erfassung einzelner Bestandteile durch ihre Abstraktheit als zu komplex für Menschen mit IB. Dieses und ähnliche Forschungshindernisse werden in diesem Artikel besprochen. Diese genaue Analyse hilft jedoch notwendige Kriterien für die Entwicklung eines theoretischen Gesundheitsmodells speziell für Menschen mit IB zu erstellen. Schlussendlich werden relevante Modellbausteine für Menschen mit IB, die auf den präsentierten Forschungsergebnissen aufbauen, vorgestellt und diskutiert. Schließlich werden zukünftige Forschungsfragen erörtert.

BackgroundObtaining employment is among the most important ambitions of people with intellectual disability. Progress towards comprehensive inclusive employment is hampered by numerous barriers. Limited research is available on these barriers and strategies to overcome them.MethodA mixed method approach in a sample of 30HR‐managers was used to assess (i) differences in perceived barriers for employment of people with specific disabilities and mental disorders; (ii) barriers specific to employing people with intellectual disability; (iii) strategies to overcome these barriers.ResultsEmployers perceive more barriers for hiring people with intellectual disability and mental disorders than for physical disabilities. Employment for this population is hampered by a perceived lack of skills and legal issues. Strategies perceived as beneficial are supplying information, changes in organizational strategies and legal changes.ConclusionsEmployers' differentiated expectations and reservations towards hiring individuals with specific disabilities need to be taken into account to increase employment for people with intellectual disability.

AbstractBackgroundDiagnostic manuals provide a strict definition of the PTSD gate criterion. Research on the adequacy of this definition in people with intellectual disabilities is lacking. This study aims to test the adequacy of the gate criterion for this population.MethodFourty nine adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities and 43 caregivers were questioned. Traumatic events included in the gate criterion definition and adverse events going beyond it were assessed. It was tested whether adverse events affect symptoms of PTSD additionally to traumatic events.ResultsThe current data showed ambiguous findings in self‐ and informant report. Informant data suggested an additional impact of adverse events on PTSD symptoms. Self‐report data suggested the contrary.ConclusionAdverse events seem to have an impact on externalizing behavioural symptoms, such as hyperarousal. Self‐report assessment of more specific, intrapsychic PTSD symptoms, such as intrusions and avoidance, should be addressed in future studies.

AbstractBackgroundThere is a lack of research on trauma in people with intellectual disabilities. This study assessed expert consensus on the traumatic potential of a broader range of adverse life events, and differences in symptom manifestation and behavioural symptom equivalents of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.MethodThe present authors conducted a three‐step Delphi survey using a mixed‐methods design. Twenty‐nine expert raters participated in the survey, and 16 persisted to the final round. Consensus was calculated using the interquartile range.ResultsTraumatic potential was attributed to adverse life events, particularly revolving around sexuality and autonomy. DSM‐5 symptoms of PTSD were rated as partially adequate, with behavioural symptom expression being the main difference to the general population.ConclusionThe range of traumatic events should be broadened for people with intellectual disabilities. A specific subset of events need to be defined in future research. Detection of PTSD depends upon determining specific symptom correlates of challenging behaviour.

AbstractThe article explores the initial achievements in the process of implementation of the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) with a special focus on health of persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Spain and Hungary, the first countries to submit and receive a review for their report in the European Union. The CRPD is a major human rights instrument of the United Nations that was adopted in 2006 with the goal of ensuring protection of rights of persons with disabilities by holding governments accountable for the services they provide to this population. It was found that the reports designed to represent official state comments on the situation of human rights of persons with disabilities often do not follow the reporting requirements of the Convention in terms of required data. Moreover, they do not use a unified understanding of disability promoted by the Convention and make no mention of many important health‐related issues. Access to health is generally understood in a purely physical sense of availability and accessibility of services, while no attention is given to specific expectations and needs of persons with disabilities or to the competence of health staff to work with vulnerable groups. In order to be able to implement the Convention, governments need to carefully assess their country's status quo with regard to disability policies and politics, and at the same time need to develop action plans to implement the CRPD.

The European Study on Adult Well-being (ESAW), funded by the European Union, was conducted during 2002 and 2003 in Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Sweden. The aim of the interdisciplinary study was the conceptual clarification and the identification of factors contributing to life satisfaction for older people. Five key components were included in the study: (1) physical health and functional status; (2) self-resources; (3) material security; (4) social support resources; and (5) life activity. A representative population of adults aged 50–90 years living independently (not institutionalised) was selected in each participating country, and the actual sample size came very close to the target of 2,000, ranging from 1,854 to 2,417. The total European sample comprised 12,478 respondents. In this paper, mean differences in general and domain-specific life satisfaction between the six countries including age groups and gender are reported and discussed with respect to contextual national characteristics. In general the findings showed a high level in all chosen indicators of life satisfaction across the six countries. National differences depended on the domain under consideration, but the results showed in general that The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Austria had higher values of life satisfaction compared to Sweden and Italy.

Abstract  The European Commission's Health Monitoring Programme culminated in the development of a set of European Community Health Indicators (ECHI) for the general population. Despite evidence of marked disparities between the health of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and their peers in the general population, the ECHI contain no significant reference to people with ID. To address this deficit, a two‐year grant from the Health Monitoring Programme was awarded to the Pomona project (a collection of researchers from 13 European countries). The project comprised exchanges of expertise; a critical review of published evidence about health and ID; and consultative processes in member states. The project's finding was that there was no systematic monitoring of the health of people with ID in EU member states and, as a consequence, a set of health indicators specific to people with ID was proposed that could lead to such systemic monitoring.